Bel had zero experience in courtship. To be fair, she had even less, outside of what she saw on the weekend visits to the village with other couples.

So rather than try to make things between them change, he decided on the best... and simplest course of action.

He pretended like nothing had really changed between them, save for the fact that they occasionally held hands, or she would sit next to him on the couch and let him use her lap like a pillow.

The first time he had done that, again in the spirit of seeing how she would react, she had merely summoned a light blanket and put it over him.

Best sleep he had ever had, bar none.

It was weird, but being around Ceres Black was...relaxing. There wasn't an immediate change in his behavior. He was still a psychotic asshole who liked to stab people far too much. But it was very similar to the way he had calmed down to a point when he Harmonized with the Boss. It took him weeks to pin down why.

He didn't have to hide from Ceres. She saw him exactly as he was, and accepted it without judgment. She didn't make demands, she didn't care about his profession or the fact he killed people with glee. She had a familiar sense of morbid humor (she found the fact he stabbed fifty-three of his co-workers during the incident with the hair dye hilarious, with only five casualties) and she had interesting hobbies that she didn't hesitate to drag him along with. And the cooking... he was positively addicted, even after discreetly testing it for potions.

Somehow, when she finally manifested her Flames for the first time with his help (he swiped Dying Will Pills from CEDEF) he wasn't the least bit surprised to learn she was a Sky with a minor Mist element.

Finding out why she didn't hesitate to claim him as her boyfriend after they started "officially" dating had been interesting though.

Ceres hated liars, but she absolutely despised traitors.

Belphegor didn't lie about what he was, wasn't ashamed to be a cold-blooded murderer, and was entirely honest about his complete disinterest in her "fame" as the only survivor of the killing curse.

Though why trash would come up with such a weak spell he would never get. Knives were more efficient and so much more effective.

He didn't care about her fame. He really didn't care about her bloodline or her money. He liked her for things she took pride in, like her cooking and accepting nature.

It was a novelty to her, especially since she didn't really have to hide her magic from him. Not that she bothered, because she had long since snapped her wand before leaving England.

"I still can't believe the Ripper Prince has a girlfriend," muttered one of the Rains.

"Hell, I can't believe he's actually mellowing," said one of the Suns in disbelief.

"I bet she's behind that trophy in his office," said a Storm sourly.

"I thought that Mammon cosplay was suspicious. They got the tone too well for anyone but someone exposed to her regularly," said a Lightning annoyed. "How the hell did she convince him to go to the convention?"

"Convention?"

"Some kid in a Belphegor costume got the trophy for the best in show. Come to think of it, I did heard the Prince's evil laughter about ten minutes after the trophy was handed out. I think she was wearing a Squalo costume."

"...I have serious concerns about your hobbies," said the Sun.

"I have pictures."

"Share, now."

"Seriously? How the hell didn't you recognize him up there?"

"It was a common convention for Varia fans! Hell, there were some of the Boss, even if they were working off old pictures! How was I supposed to know the Prince would go to a 'peasant' convention and not go on a killing spree?!"

"Uh, guys?"

"I mean the kid is creepy enough without having to worry about him stalking us in our free time!" continued the oblivious Storm.

"Guys!"

Everyone looked at the pale Lighting. Then turned around.

There, standing ominously in all his insane glory, was the Ripper Prince himself. The random Storm Flame paled, before saying "Fuck."

"Ushishishi... Guess who just pulled secretary duty for the next two months," said Belphegor with an evil grin.

The Storm didn't groan. Considering the Prince could have killed him then and there for lacking the proper respect.

He'd rather perform 'secretary duty' for five months than face an annoyed Belphegor after his ass. This girlfriend of his was definitely making it easier to survive the Prince's mood swings.

No one was brave enough to suggest the Prince visit a shrink or something to stabilize his personality, and to be quiet blunt, the Varia Officers didn't give a damn if he did have a medical problem so long as he did his job and followed orders.

Thank god the Prince somehow found a girlfriend.

It was highly amusing, for her and the only boy her own age to keep her interest, observing the stalkers from the Varia and the other Families.

Apparently the news that the "Ripper Prince", a name that amused her greatly considering she was British, had an actual living girlfriend who wasn't a total psycho on the level of Bellatrix Lestrange was something so shocking that people had to at least watch her from afar to find out what the hell she did that got his attention in the first place without getting stabbed in the process.

Belphegor found it so hilarious to watch the peasants flounder that he started tossing his knives at her, just to see their reactions to her casually catching all of them and handing them calmly back. Her absolute non-reaction to such near death had the peasants buzzing even more.

He was curious to see how they would react if they knew Ceres was an unattached Sky, who's only tenuous connection was to Belphegor who was already Harmonized with Xanxus.

She was very strong, but apparently was able to hide the fact her Flames were now active. He had no doubt there would be massive waves if people found out.

As it happened, he would get an answer to that from a rather unlikely source.

Another one of the peasants, though a much more tolerable one in the form of Reborn drinking coffee and watching them with open curiosity, made the mistake of opening up his barriers to poke at Ceres' Flames to see if there was some sort of connection there.

Bel didn't have to look when the Arcebelano choked on his espresso. He knew the sound of shocked disbelief when he heard it.

He had been hearing similar sounds in headquarters once word spread he had a girlfriend who was nice and brought cookies that weren't poisoned.

He wondered how long it would take for Reborn to spread the word about his Ceres.

With Reborn...

"Shamal, exactly what do you know of the Ripper brat's girlfriend?" asked Reborn flatly.

"Cute, barely bats an eye at killing intent or having knives thrown at her, likes to do a lot of baking, and enjoys chaos," said Shamal, listing what little was known about her. There was something off about the 'baby', and it took a minute for him to realize what it was. His jaw dropped. "No way."

"What?"

"You have a fledgling Guardian bond forming. It's faint, but it's still there. Who the hell managed to Harmonize with you so fast?"

Reborn pouted, making him look more like an infant than he actually was.

"I poked at her Flame type to see if she naturally aligned with the brats. I barely had my control off for a minute at most," he admitted.

Shamal dropped his drink in shock.

"You're shitting me. The girl is a Sky?"

"A Sky with no Guardian bonds."

"Her records state she's a Cloud with Mist aspects. How the hell did they miss a Sky Flame...unless she's been hiding it on her own."

Which was damn difficult. It was nearly impossible to hide an Aspect, especially Sky. The second word got out she would likely be dragged in for a full physical and the sharks set loose to try and snag her.

And that would be messy. Very, very messy. Particularly since the Ripper Prince was territorial on a good day. He wouldn't take his girlfriend being snagged by a rival family well at all, if he actually cared for her.

And all indications were that Belphegor was genuinely smitten with the girl, or at least fascinated to the point he listened to her. Sky Attraction could explain it, but he doubted it. The brat was a bonded Guardian, and that meant a lot of protection from that sort of thing.

Not to mention the brat's own personality and the fact he didn't even seem to notice girls before this point.

Shamal groaned. If Reborn was Harmonizing with the girl, then he did not envy the hitman when the brat found out. He could almost see the cat fight now, never mind that the Sun was in no condition to do anything about it with his curse.

Besides, the girl was barely fifteen at the most. Belphegor was likely her first boyfriend, and wasn't that a horrifying thought?

Shamal's concerns about Belphegor's reaction to Reborn bonding with his girlfriend were either unfounded, or he had already resigned himself to the fact because he knew before anyone.

"Ciaossu," said Reborn.

Bel looked up from the book (a historical reference with the most accurate data on Jack the Ripper, of all things), took one look at him, and started snickering.

Reborn raised an eye.

"Mammon's going to be pissed when she hears about this. She barely tolerates the others as is," said Bel, before going back to his book.

Ceres blinked when she saw the 'baby' in her apartment.

"Are you here for a contract hit or something else?" she asked blandly.

"Something else," he replied.

She looked at the Ripper Prince with an annoyed expression.

"This have something to do with why you were so territorial for a month and a half before that near hostage attempt when we started courting?"

Reborn raised an eyebrow. That was a very odd, and extremely old way of saying they were dating. Then again, this was Belphegor who firmly maintained he was a Prince right down to wearing a crown like everyday wear.

No one had confirmed whether or not he was telling the truth or it was simply another aspect of his psychotic nature expressing itself, and frankly no one really wanted to find out in case it got his attention.

Bel suddenly snickered evilly, apparently remembering the incident.

"You knew she was a Sky, and didn't tell anyone?"

If he could see the brat's eyes, he was sure they'd be as hard as steel and just as warm as ice.

"I will not allow some random trash to try and Harmonize with what's mine. And my Princess certainly doesn't need the peasantry to crowd her again," he growled.

If Reborn wasn't the World's Greatest Hitman, he might have been scared shitless from the sound. Instead he took the warning.

"People are going to figure it out, you know."

"Not if you do a little spring cleaning to keep the trash from trying to steal her back," said Belphegor flatly.

"Why don't you do it yourself?"

"The second they find out who he is, or at least his family, he'd be recognized and a whole slew of unneeded headaches would drop on our doorstep. The last thing we need is civilians trying to butt into the affairs of the Varia or the Families because royalty happened to be in the area killing the lesser nobles. Never mind the nightmare that would descend the second they find out why he's doing it," she replied bluntly.

The minute the English morons recognized his crest, they'd start asking questions and snooping into Flame Actives. Sure, she wouldn't lose any sleep over the idiots that tried to ban the Varia from killing using their Flames, but she knew far too well that at some near point in the future the other Ministries would try to regulate Flames. Considering almost all of them abhorred killing and using Soulfire was considered a form of magic...

She wasn't touching that disaster waiting to happen with a hundred meter pole. Nor would she 'contract' Belphegor to clean house back home.

She wasn't an idiot, thank you very much.

"You're taking the fact you're going to end up with Guardians surprisingly well."

She gave Reborn the most deadpan look he had ever seen in his life.

"The main reason the Prince decided to befriend me in the first place was because I didn't react to the amount of killing intent he kept sending my way while cleaning his crown since it had become positively filthy. And then he started inviting himself over when he realize I barely perceive death threats anymore. It's hard to care about dying when you've been near death so often it doesn't even faze you."

There was a story there, and Reborn just knew he wasn't going to like it. Even if it was likely the reason she was dating the Ripper Prince to begin with.

Still after trying her baked treats (she was a phenomenal baker and he might be ruined from store brands after this) he found himself naturally unwinding.

It took him a few moments after the Prince left before he realized what it was.

He was relaxed. Like a great deal of stress was taken off his shoulders that he didn't know existed.

Was this how the brat felt all the time? No wonder he hadn't hesitated to snatch the girl up in the only way he could. She naturally gave off enough Sky and Rain Flames to make anyone feel comfortable. And her lack of fear towards death meant she could shrug off killing intent like it was nothing.

Actually, now that he had the time and inclination for it... Reborn cautiously poked at her Flames again.

Sky and Cloud were predominate, but there were strong hints of Rain and Mist as well. The only ones missing were Storm and Lightning. He could tell just from the strength of her Cloud Flames she would not take being treated like a damsel in distress well at all. He shuddered at the idea of trying to keep her locked up safe.

The tiny Guardian bond almost flared up into a full one. He had to stamp down his reaction before it affected him.

What the hell caused the girl to latch on to suitable Guardians that strongly? Most bonds took months to form, or even years before the trust level got to that point!

And yet she latched on to him like a lifeline, without even knowing it.

Reborn immediately prioritized getting a full test of the girl's Flames done, the sooner the better. Preferably when the Ripper Prince was out on assignment and not close enough to give him grief.

Belphegor was surprisingly fine with him taking his girlfriend to see Shamal about a full physical. It wasn't until she found out where they were going that he realized why.

Damn that brat. He knew the girl hated hospitals. He had counted on the free entertainment of a Sky with an aversion to such places like a cat going nuts near water.

At least her Cloud nature hid her Sky Flames, as she was too irritated to allow anyone to bond with her as a Guardian, if even by accident.

Several hours later...

Meeting Ceres was interesting, even if her aversion to hospitals made the entire process like pulling teeth without anesthetic. It wasn't that she was rude or a nightmare to deal with like Reborn on occasion, but that her Flames were clearly in an agitated state to the point they risked Flame burn just from her Cloud aspect alone!

If she wasn't Reborn's Sky, he'd swear on his ancestor's graves that the girl was an abused Cloud who had latched onto to the Ripper Prince because if he killed her it wouldn't be personal.

And then came the headache of trying to find her medical records. Which apparently didn't exist.

Ceres Black did not exist.

Shamal took the test results, brought it with him to his apartment, and waited for Reborn to show up. Things were volatile enough with the Ripper Prince dating the girl. They didn't need her Flame nature to get out until he had a good grasp of how that would turn out.

He didn't want needless death on his conscience, thank you very much.

Like clockwork, Reborn appeared an hour after he got home.

"Well?"

"She missing every single vaccination, and she openly admitted to being in the country illegally under a false name. And don't get me started on the snake anti-venom in her blood, or the number of other things that showed up."

"Snake?"

"Extremely venomous, almost certainly deadly if bite. She must have been very, very lucky they had the right antidote on hand, or at least something to lessen the effects. Now she's practically immune with the amount in her bloodstream, though she might have an allergic reaction if she encountered the same species again."

It would either make her mildly ill, or she would have a bad reaction.

"More importantly are her X-Rays. The girl's been abused, heavily. And I'm betting her dislike of hospitals steams from too much time spent in them."

Reborn looked pissed, but he was always a softy for abused kids... especially females.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd swear the girl was a Cloud."

"This could get messy."

"You're telling me. The second word gets out you've got a Sky, people are going to scramble to find out who it is, and god knows what happens when they discover it's her. And I still can't find her records."

"Try Demeter Potter."

"Excuse me?"

"When she admitted to using a slightly fake name, I asked her what her original one was. The brat said it was Demeter Potter."

Shamal stared. And here he thought a name like Trident was a shitty name, even if it was one he earned. Though he did have to ask...

"If her real name's Demeter, then why..."

"Demeter was the Greek name, but the Romans called her Ceres. It's also the name of an asteroid. Black was for an uncle who died."

Likely the missing Guardian Bond, if her test results were right. Still at least he had something to go off of.